Buckeye Booster Is Facing Tax Bills

The booster who is alleged to have given money to Ohio State quarterback Troy Smith is in trouble with tax officials, the Cleveland Plain Dealer reported.

Robert Baker, 46, a former executive at the Columbus-based Poly-Care Services, a provider of healthcare products, is facing a tax lien of $63,789 from the Internal Revenue Service and a $79,569 Ohio tax lien, according to Clark County Recorder’s Office records.

The Plain Dealer also reported that Baker is a 1981 graduate of Baldwin-Wallace College who played football for Ohio State Coach Jim Tressel’s father, Lee, in 1980.

Tressel acknowledged to the newspaper that he knows Baker, but was uncertain if the booster had attended any practices or traveled with the team.

Baker, who was one of the founders of Poly-Care, recently left the company. His relationship with Smith was made known to Ohio State officials by Geoffrey Webster, an attorney for Poly-Care whose duties include employee code-of-conduct investigations. The relationship was first detailed Tuesday by the Columbus Dispatch.

Buckeye Athletic Director Andy Geiger told the Dispatch that Baker, who watches home games from a luxury suite, could be barred from buying tickets to Ohio State games. Baker is one of three people who share a contract for the suite on the 35-yard line at Ohio Stadium, the Plain Dealer reported.

This is not the first time Baker has been involved in a questionable relationship with an Ohio State player.

Former Buckeye Chris Gamble was employed by Poly-Care in 2003 in sales and marketing. But officials decided to investigate Gamble’s employment with the company after he signed autographs at a nursing home. Gamble was cleared.

Smith, who helped turn around Ohio State’s season after starter Justin Zwick was injured in a loss at Iowa, was suspended before Wednesday night’s Alamo Bowl victory over Oklahoma State.

The Buckeyes defeated the Cowboys, 33-7, to finish 8-4.

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Southeastern Louisiana’s Hal Mumme was hired by New Mexico State as its coach, replacing Tony Samuel, who was fired last month after going 34-57 in eight seasons.

Mumme is 97-64-1 record in 14 seasons as a head coach and has taken teams to the postseason seven times.

He spent the last two seasons at Southeastern Louisiana, going 12-11.

Mumme was 20-26 in four years at Kentucky, going to two bowl games. He resigned in February 2001 amid an NCAA investigation that uncovered recruiting violations and led to three years’ probation. Mumme was not sanctioned.